Roofing-tile



. M. M. TROMM.

ROOFING TILE.

PPLlCATlON FILED DEC. 26,1917.

1,370,? 1 6, Patented Mar. 8, 1921.

2 SHEETSSHEET I. v

INVENTOR Quad 411w A TTOR/VEYJ.

UNITED STATES MORRIS M. TROMM, OF NEW POINT, INDIANA.

ROOFING-TILE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 8, 1 921.

Application filed December 26, 1917. Serial No. 205,753.

To all whom it may 0012 06m.

Be it known that I, Monnrs M. TROMM, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New Point, in the county ofDecatur and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Roofing-Tiles, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a tile for roofing purposes, preferably rectangular in shape and formed of suitable cement, which shall be provided with interlocking grooves and projections to form absolutely waterproof joints, so that when the tile are laid overlapping each other, a smooth rectangular surface shall be presented for each tile, with the underneath surface of the respective overlapping tile locked together, with the locking joints so arranged that any rain that may be driven in under the tile shall be caught and allowed to flow off, and in which arrangements are made for suspending the tile from cleats to which they can be nailed if desired, and in which provision is made for supporting the tile at its middle portion, whereby the tiling can be secured readily and easily, even on vertical surfaces. Provision is also made whereby the tile may be overlapped to a greater or less extent, so that the best dimensions may be made to cover a greater or smaller surface.

My invention consists of that certain novel construction and arrangement of parts which will be hereinafter particularly point ed out and claimed whereby the above mentioned results are accomplished.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the front face of my improved roofing tile.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a number of tile as laid.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the reverse or bottom side of the tile.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the reverse faces of a number of tile as laid.

Fig. 5 is a central vertical section through several of the tile as laid.

The tile is formed rectangular in shape, with a smooth upper face 1, except for two of the adjacent side edges. The front face of each tile along two of the adjacent edges is formed with raised portions 2, 3, leaving a groove 4 between them. The under surface of the tile is formed with a triangular projection or lug 5 at the corner where the grooves on the front faces meet, and this triangular projection is provided with a nail hole 6 projecting slightly downwardly. The opposite edges of the under surface of the tile are formed with a series of projections 7, 8, 9 and 10, leaving grooves 11 of a depth and width to receive the projections 2 and 3 on the front face. These grooves or channels, with the projecting portions, in view of the fact that the shape of the tile is rectangular, all run to an angle of ninety degrees at their respective corners, and the side walls of the projecting portions incline downwardly. The under surface of the tile is also provided with a lug 12 near the cen ter line, projecting downwardly so that its top face will be on a line with the face 13 on the under surface, and the intermediate space between the face 13 and the side chan nels is provided preferably with a series of grooves 14, this latter arrangement of grooves being in order to reduce weight and to add to the strength-of the tile, although these latter corrugations or ribs are not of any special importance. A hole 15 is formed through the lug 12, about parallel to the upper face of the tile, in order to permit the securing of the tile by a wire orotherwise when the tile are arranged in a vertical or almost vertical position. The face 13, it will be noted, is'not parallel with the upper surface of the tile, but is formed on an incline so that the tile is thicker at the lowe'i portion of the face 13, giving additional strength thereto at this portion.

For laying the tile on the roof, cross cleats are provided which are secured to the roof beams 17. These cleats are secured equal distances apart so that there will be two cleats for each horizontal row of tiling, and the tile are laid in horizontal rows overlapping each other. First the lowermost row is laid with the lug 5 engaging over a cleat with the surface 13 resting on the cleat and to secure the tile it will be frequently preferred to drive a nail through the hole 6 into the cleat 16. Then the next row of tiling is laid, with the lugs 5 engaging the next cleat but one, and with the lug 12 resting on the intermediate cleat, the projecting ridges 7 and 8 engaging the channel 4 and side face formed by the ridges 2 and 3 on the upper side of the overlapped tile and thus interlocking therewith. This forms a tight joint and prevents an rain being driven up between the tile. s the tiles are overlapped when laid, the planes of the tiles are not parallel to the inclination of the roof, and for this reason the surface 13 is formed on an incline. In the event that the inclination of the roof is very steep, or the wall is a vertical wall, the respective tile of each row are secured by a wire passing through the hole 15 at the base vof the lug 12 and looping the wire around the cleat.

As illustrated, the tile are laid in diamond shape, and inasmuch as the grooves 4 run away from the uppermost point, any rain which might be driven'under the tile will run down the groove 4:. The corners of each tile are clipped off at 18, 18, so that the tile may be properly overlapped for rectangular faces, and of course for the lowermost and uppermost rows of the tiling, half tile will be employed to fill in the trian ular spaces.

it will be seen that the'tiling as above described can be laid very rapidly, and that no sheeting is required for the roof.

My improved tile is preferably made from a cement composition which hardens so as to be very effective as a roofing tile material,

and the weight of the roofing will be less than a slate roof, and substantially no heavier than a shingle roof, as the sheeting is dispensed with. The tiling is fireproof and can be laid by unskilled labor in about one tenth the time required for shingles.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isv:--

1. In combination with cross cleats, for a roof, of a flat quadrilateral roofing tile provided with ribs to form grooves along the adjacent side edges from two of the opposite angles for the top and bottom faces respectively, with the groove on the upper top face open downwardly onto the top surface of the tile and having a triangular shaped lug projecting from the bottom face at the angle of the upper grooves to form a hook to engage over the cross cleat, said lug provided with a flat surface expanding in width adjacent the lug formed on an incline to compensate for the angle of the tile 011 overlapping and to present a uniform support for the tile when overlapped and resting on the cross cleat.

2. A flat quadrilateral roofing tile, provided with ribs forming grooves along the side edges from two of the opposite angles for the top and bottom faces respectively with the groove on the upper top face opening downwardly onto the top surface of the tile and having a triangular shaped lug projecting from the bottom face at the angle of the upper grooves provided with a nail hole to secure the tile to the cross cleat, and a flat surface adjacent the lug to rest on the cross cleat, and a central lug on the bottom face provided with a transverse hole, whereby the tile may be overlapped and interlocked and secured to cross cleats when laid in courses.

MORRIS M. TROMM. 

